How to stop binging tips

[Singing to the starlight]

I'll keep this nice and non triggering, so anybody can read the replies.

How do you stop binging, and what do you do instead of it?

[thisiscourtney]

I think of how I'm going to feel afterwards. I'm going to feel sick, guilty, and as if I've just wasted a day of my life.

I do things that produce emotions opposite to those. I'll experiment with make-up/hair/clothing, I'll help a friend with a problem, or I'll just go hang out somewhere.

I reward myself. Hey, I just fought off a binge. I deserve a new dress.

I talk to someone about the feelings that were triggering me. Instead of allowing food to help me (it doesn't), I seek help in a close friend or family member.

[emma01]

Hey. I have never binged, or felt the need to, so i might not be any use. But maybe if you feel you are going to binge, to stop yourself you should go out somewhere...maybe for a walk, or to town if its convenient.
You could try counting to 100, or do a crossword puzzle. Do something to take your mind off wanting food.
Think to yourself how you will feel afterwards, and if you really want food, grab a banana or apple and go sit somewhere like in your bedroom. Avoid being in the kitchen for long, and before you go get the food, know exactly where it is so you wont be searching in cupboards etc.
When you don't binge, reward yourself (not with food)...but remember, if you do binge, don't let it destroy you!

[Ella.x]

I binge a lot when I'm stressed and what I do to try and calm down without binge eating is to take a walk without any money on me so I'm not tempted to buy any food. I generally try to go for walks in the woods and focus on the nature which takes my mind off food.

[~CourageousSurvivor~]

Hey there,

There are a number of things that I do to stop myself from binging. The first one is having a balanced diet. I try to eat 6 meals a day. Basically three snacks and breakfast,lunch, and dinner.

Eating a good amount of food in a day keeps my hunger levels down which keeps me from obsessing about food and what is good and then subsequently binging. So this might help you.

The thing that helps me the most is really tapping into my emotions. Binging is mainly about all the emotions running around inside of us. We want relief from them and given the fact that food can bring a 'fake' sense of comfort we turn to it. However I have found that if you really tap into your emotions the urge to binge can lessen in intensity and possibly die down completely.

What I mean by 'tap into your emotions' is that when you feel a need to binge think about. Think things like "What is making me feel the need to binge?" "Am I hungry or is there just some eternal thing going on." When you are able to identify the thing making you want to binge sit down and write about it, call up a friend, or come on here and blog or post in a thread or use livehelp or helplink.

If you can identify what is making you want to binge and then you write about it the need really can die down because you are actually dealing with those emotions instead of ignoring them with food.

Lastly, something I suggest is finding a support network. Get friends and family involved in this. Let them know what is going on so that you can get their support when you feel a binge coming on. From experience it helps so much to have someone to turn to when you feel like things are falling apart or whatever. When you know that their are people there rooting you on it feels so good. And, it never hurts to have someone in real life to talk to about all of this.

If you need anything do not hesitate to pm me.

Take care,

Jenna

[ForeverAutumn*]

When I'm in a binging mood, usually I force myself to take a step back and think about the why behind the want.. most of the time it's anger, hurt, sadness, frustration, etc.

The hard part is keeping myself from going downstairs to binge.. I make myself tell whoever I'm speaking with at the time, or if I'm not talking to anyone, I'll IM a close friend and tell them what I want to do, because most of them can talk me out of the mood. If I stay at the computer and talk to someone, that usually keeps me somewhat distracted until the urge passes.. other times I work on music (keeps my hands busy and my mind focused on something else).

Hope this helps some.

[MaroonLove]

Do something constructive instead. Try writing on going on a long walk. Binging is a hard habit to break so try a new hobby, like collecting something or knitting. Typically you WONT feel good after a binge. Just focus on things that WILL make you feel good.

[Singing to the starlight]

These are all great. Keep em coming.

[WillO'Wisp]

Occupy your mind with something else, go out for a walk, hang out with friends, talk to supportive sources who can take your mind off it. Anything to keep your mind occupied from it.

[glittermist]

When i feel as though i'm about to binge, i stop and think of all of the problems it has created for me in the past. I won't go into detail, but they aren't very nice. I also write, i write anything and everything and just let that be the release of my pent-up emotions. I scream, i cry, i sing, i cheer myself up, i do school work. I just get it all out of my system in the most focused of ways, i put my all into it. That way i'll have no energy left to binge. Get all of that negativeness out, do something useful and you'll feel better.

Be strong <3

[Mikey]

This topic is slightly.. uncomfortable for myself, because we are suffering from opposite problems.
Here are some of my tips; but I am NOT encouraging you to starve yourself or anything along that line.
- Chew (sugar free/low-cal) gum. It tricks your body into thinking your eating from your chewing.
- Peppermints - Hunger Suppresant.
- Drink LOTS of ice cold water. May I repeat lots, lots, lots.
- Suck/chew on ice cubes. Water = 0 cals.
- Eat Almonds, their healthy, fills you up, and boosts your metabolism.
- Go for a run, take a ice cold bath (also boosts your metabolism), do something you enjoy; write a story or paint a picture.
[Edited by Jen]
- Remind yourself how you'll feel after you binge. (Frustrated, upset, ect.)
-CREATE GOALS; For example, if you go three days with eating healthy and not binging treat yourself with a slice of pizza or scoop of ice cream, but have a friend/family memeber around so you don't feel the temptation to binge.
- Just remember, you are beautiful, be healthy and love yourself for who you are.
Pm me Anytime. (:
(if this post is triggering or.. improper please let me know. I will be more than happy to take it down)

[Jen]

Hey all,

These are great tips that you're suggesting! Hopefully they're helpful for some of you

I just want to throw in a reminder: there is a difference between avoiding a binge and avoiding food. Binging is eating an extremely large, unhealthy amount of food in one sitting. When we say that we are trying to prevent a binge, we aren't saying to not eat at all in that sitting. We're saying, how can you normalize your eating and eat a healthy amount, instead of getting out of control and eating that unhealthy amount. Or, how can you differentiate between figuring out if you are truly hungry, or if you are turning to food as coping mechanism.

It is important for EVERYONE, whether they are overweight, underweight, or average weight, to eat regular, healthily-sized meals. Not binging is just as important as not restricting!

Be well--you are all beautiful and deserve to take care of yourselves.
<3

[AmethystDrew]

Generally, I've been (mostly successfully) avoiding the need to binge by avoiding getting too full. I've been eating much smaller portions, because I've found that I can keep food down if it's not too much. =]